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Best Bets: Week 9 – NKY

It’s a fairly anticlimactic final week in Northern Kentucky district play.

Almost all of the area district championships have either already been decided or come down to lopsided matchups on Friday.

But teams are still playing for seeding as the postseason looms.

Here are the Best Bets for Week 9 in Northern Kentucky:

Ryle (6-2) at Simon Kenton (9-0), 7 p.m. – It’s not a district matchup but it’s the premier game in Northern Kentucky this week. After being blown out by Covington Catholic to open its slate, Ryle is 7-0 against Kentucky teams, with its lone six-point blemish coming against Indianapolis Cathedral. RB Jake Chisholm’s huge year continues, as he has gained 1,528 yards and scored 23 touchdowns on the ground. Simon Kenton has a bye during the final regular season week, so this is its final game before the playoffs. Only three Class 6A teams in the state have scored more than 300 points, and the Pioneers are No. 1 at 419, or 46.5 per game. QB Matt Shearer is just 206 passing yards short of 2,000 for the season, and his top receiver – Hayden Fisher – has 31 catches for 609 yards and 11 TDs.

Scott (5-3) at Holmes (2-6), 7 p.m. – A nine-point win over Bourbon County last week locked up Class 4A for Scott. The Eagles are averaging 34 points, thanks largely to a ground attack that is piling up 301 yards per game. Quincy Perrin has rushed for 1,116 yards on a Scott team that passes fewer than 10 times per game. Holmes is locked into the No. 4 spot in its district with a 1-2 league record. The Bulldogs were held to 12 points in their first four games but have averaged 28.2 since.

Boone County (1-7) at Campbell County (5-3), 7:30 p.m. – The winner earns home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs, as both teams are 0-1 in their three-team district, with Simon Kenton having locked up the top spot. Boone County is third-last in all of Class 6A in points (54), and the Rebels have been shut out four times. Campbell County has three losses, but two have been by seven points. The Camels average 35.5 points per game.

Cooper (1-7) at Conner (4-4), 7 p.m. – Like the Boone County-Campbell County game, this is a matchup of 0-1 district teams that are battling for second place in Class 6A and home field for the first round of the postseason behind Ryle. The Jaguars lost their first seven games but pounded Boone County, 35-7 last week. Conner has lost its last two after a 4-2 start.

Covington Catholic (8-0) at Dixie Heights (3-5), 7 p.m. – CovCath clinches its Class 5A district with a win. In the unlikely event of a Dixie Heights win, the league would be thrown into a three-way tie, and the champion would be decided by the number of opponents’ wins. CovCath hasn’t even come close to losing this year, having won each game by at least 21 and scoring at least 30 points in all of its contests. Dixie Heights had won three straight before getting hammered, 47-0 by Highlands last week.

Walton-Verona (6-2) at Gallatin County (4-4), 7:30 p.m. – Walton-Verona has clinched its district but needs a win this week to finish with a perfect league record. Gallatin County is locked into a No. 4 seed, coming off its best defensive effort of the season with a 20-2 win over Trimble County. The Bearcats have pitched four shutouts and are third in all of Class A in defense, allowing just 11.4 points per game.

Highlands (3-5) at Greenwood (3-5), 7:30 p.m. – The last two weeks could not have gone any differently for Highlands. The Bluebirds crushed Dixie Heights, 47-0 two weeks ago but were blown out, 52-0 by CovCath last Friday. Three Highlands opponents have scored at least 49 points this season. Greenwood has not played a Northern Kentucky team this season and is giving up an average of 30.3 points. QB Jackson Adams and RB Triston Wilson are the Gators’ top offensive threats, having gained over 1,600 yards on the ground. Greenwood has thrown the ball just 54 times all year.

Bellevue (5-3) at Ludlow (7-1), 7 p.m. – The winner earns the No. 2 seed and home-field advantage in the opening round of the postseason, as both teams are 1-1 in the district with each having beaten Dayton and lost to Beechwood. Bellevue goes to the air just over half the time, a rarity for a Class A school, and six different Tigers receivers have caught at least 14 passes. Ludlow outscored its first seven opponents, 337-163 but was obliterated, 63-0 by Beechwood last week. QB Justin Blackburn has eclipsed the 1,500-yard rushing mark.

Newport Central Catholic (4-4) at Newport (2-6), 7 p.m. – The winner takes home second place in the district, with carries with it home-field advantage for the playoff opener, and the loser ends up third in Class 2A. NewCath suffered a rare district loss to Lloyd last week while Newport snapped a six-game losing streak by beating Holy Cross. The Thoroughbreds haven’t been the offensive force they have been in past years, averaging just 276 yards per game. The Wildcats are a bit one-dimensional offensively, but Giaunte Jackson and Tyler Porter have combined for over 1,200 rushing yards.

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